Chapter 3 Hiruzen Sarutobi's Reaction.
After Uchiha Touhuan left, Uchiha Shisui, disregarding the replacement of the eyes Touhuan had given him, rushed towards the Hokage Building.
Although Touhuan had said he wouldn't use his eyes to control the Hokage, Shisui still dared not take the risk.
[At least, he needed to make the Hokage wary.]
With this belief, Shisui endured the excruciating pain in his eye sockets and stumbled to the Hokage Building.
"Uchiha Shisui?" The two Chunin guarding the Hokage Building were shocked upon seeing the newcomer and his miserable state. This was the renowned Shisui of the Body Flicker Technique! Why was he in this state?
"I need to see the Hokage! Quickly!" Shisui cried.
"What happened?" Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had heard the commotion, came out of his office. He was startled when he saw Shisui's empty eye sockets. His mission for Shisui today was to investigate the Uchiha clan's gathering, but now Shisui was seriously injured. Was the Uchiha clan really about to rebel?
"Shisui! Quickly! Call a medical ninja!" the Third Hokage hurriedly ordered.
"Hokage-sama, I have an emergency to report. We can discuss the medical ninja later," Shisui replied hastily upon hearing Hiruzen's voice.
"Alright." Seeing Shisui's agitation, the Third Hokage had no choice but to take him into his office and dismiss everyone else.
"Speak, Shisui, what happened?" the Third Hokage asked with difficulty, already prepared for the worst.
Shisui took a deep breath and recounted everything that had happened that night, including the abilities of the eyes that Uchiha Touhuan had taken from him, without daring to conceal anything.
The Third Hokage's expression grew increasingly grave as he listened. To be honest, he had already mentally prepared himself for the Uchiha clan's formal rebellion, but the information Shisui brought was far more serious.
"Touhuan?" The Third Hokage had lit his pipe at some point, exhaling a long puff of smoke as the image of Uchiha Touhuan flashed through his mind.
In the Third Hokage's memory, this Uchiha, who was on par with Shisui and had made great contributions in the Third Shinobi World War, was not like the arrogant Uchiha.
Although he was a bit more aloof and taciturn than Shisui, his "smiling law enforcement" policy implemented in the police force was widely praised by the villagers, making a significant contribution to easing the relationship between the villagers and the Uchiha clan.
Originally, Hiruzen Sarutobi thought that this was an Uchiha with the Will of Fire, like his former comrade Uchiha Kagami, but he never expected that he would have such a conspiracy in the dark, and now, the other party possessed the power of two pairs of Mangekyou Sharingan.
"Hokage-sama, you must be careful! Don't give Touhuan any opportunity!" Uchiha Shisui warned.
"I understand, Shisui. Don't worry, things haven't gotten to the worst yet," Hiruzen Sarutobi comforted Shisui, puffing on his cigarette. "Go get your eyes replaced first."
"Hokage-sama!" Shisui cried anxiously.
"Even if he controls me with your eyes, his plot won't succeed, Shisui. You must understand, the reason a Hokage is Hokage is because everyone in the village acknowledges the Will of Fire. If he thinks he can control the entire Hidden Leaf Village by controlling me, then he's sorely mistaken!" Hiruzen Sarutobi patted Shisui's shoulder. "So, go without worry. We still need your strength to stop his plot."
"Hokage-sama..." Hiruzen Sarutobi's words made Shisui choke up. "I understand! I will definitely stop him!"
After Uchiha Shisui was taken to have his eyes replaced, a figure leaning on a cane slowly emerged from the shadows of the Hokage's office.
"Hiruzen, what are you still hesitating for!" The newcomer saw Hiruzen Sarutobi sitting silently in the Hokage's office chair and immediately said urgently, "Do you want to become the puppet of that inherently evil Uchiha brat?"
"Danzo, calm down." Hiruzen Sarutobi glanced at his old partner. "Things haven't reached that point yet."
"Uchiha Touhuan has clearly been planning to rebel for a long time. If we continue to sit and wait for our deaths, it will be too late!" Danzo roared when he saw Hiruzen still hesitating. "Furthermore, the Uchiha have long harbored rebellious intentions. Once they find out that Uchiha Touhuan has awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan, they will probably rise up today! We must strike first and capture Uchiha Touhuan!"
"Enough! Danzo! I am the Hokage!" Hiruzen Sarutobi snapped.
"Hiruzen! You will regret this!"
*Bang!*
After Danzo slammed the door and left, Hiruzen Sarutobi took a deep drag on his cigarette and looked out at the night sky.
Knowing Danzo as he did, Hiruzen Sarutobi was certain he would secretly lead a group to intercept and kill Uchiha Touhuan. Hiruzen was happy for this; if he succeeded, everyone would be happy; if Danzo failed, it would simply be Danzo's personal act, and had nothing to do with him, the Hokage. This was an unspoken understanding between the two of them over the years.
"These are truly turbulent times," Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed in the smoke-filled Hokage office.
The next morning, the sun rose as usual.
Uchiha Touhuan, after waking up from his bed and quickly washing up, set off for work at the security force.
Just as Uchiha Touhuan entered his office and hadn't even settled in, the captain of the security force, and also the head of the Uchiha clan, Uchiha Fugaku, walked in.
"Touhuan, get ready. There's an urgent mission in the village. This time, you, Inahisa, and Zaito will go together, and you'll lead the team," Uchiha Fugaku said with a stern face.
"I understand." Uchiha Touhuan nodded, not surprised at all, but rather feeling that the mission had come a little too soon.
"Are the Hokage's people really that impatient?" After Uchiha Fugaku left, Uchiha Touhuan lightly drew his long sword from his waist, the cold blade reflecting his face.
Sheathing the sword, packing his gear, and picking up the mission scroll, Uchiha Touhuan waited for his teammates for this operation in front of the security headquarters.
Uchiha Inahisa and Uchiha Zaito were both outstanding members of the younger generation of the Uchiha clan. Although their strength was far inferior to Shisui and Touhuan, they had become Chunin before the age of 20 and awakened the two tomoe.
However, like most Uchiha, their limited mental capacity was completely occupied by the sense of honor of their clan. Therefore, they had some complaints about Uchiha Touhuan's usual smiling enforcement of the law. However, with the mission at hand, the two still gave Uchiha Touhuan a standard bow upon seeing him.
Uchiha Touhuan nodded, then said, "Let's go."
(End of Chapter)